Texas TRS Discloses $500M in Commitments; LACERS Sets $330M RE Plan
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas disclosed $500M in April commitments across five re-ups with existing managers, spanning private equity and infrastructure. The private equity commitments included $200M to Green Equity Investors X, $100M to Gridiron Capital Fund VI, $77M and $23M to two Kingswood Capital vehicles, and $100M to Macquarie Infrastructure Partners VII.
In other allocator updates, LACERS approved a real estate strategic plan targeting up to $330M in new commitments for fiscal year 2026-2027, with up to $200M in non-core sized at $50M–$65M per fund, and high-conviction sectors including data centers, senior housing, industrial outdoor storage, and alternative housing. The committee separately renewed a three-year contract with Polen Capital Credit for a $291M hybrid high yield and bank loan mandate. Separately, Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System reached a record $37.8B in total assets, with CIO Bryan Fujita telling the board that reaching target allocations in private credit and infrastructure will take roughly three years.
On the GP fundraising side, Pantheon closed its first private equity collateralized fund obligation at $1B, above a $750M target, providing capital-efficient exposure for institutional investors including insurers through a combination of its secondaries, co-investment, and seeded PE strategies, and Flexpoint Ford has reportedly raised about $1.1B across initial closes of two new funds targeting asset-based opportunities in financial services. Elsewhere, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank is targeting $500M for a new aircraft lease fund launched with Novus Aviation Capital, the third such vehicle from the two firms and the first targeting overseas institutional investors.
In people news, Lee Marshall joined LGPS Central as head of real estate and natural capital from the Pension Protection Fund, and New Zealand Superannuation Fund promoted Brendon Jones to head of real assets while welcoming back former staffer Qing Ding in the newly created role of head of portfolio strategy and research; the fund continues to recruit for a head of portfolio completion and a head of private equity.
Read on for all the day’s fundraising news headlines.
$271 Billion in Deals — and Record Fundraising to Match
April was another active month across private markets.
Dakota tracked 1,717 transactions and $271B in deal value, with large-scale acquisitions driving activity across industrials, technology, and energy.
On the fundraising side, the market set records.
KKR raised $23B for North America buyouts, EQT closed $15.6B for Asia-Pacific, and private credit vehicles from Blackstone and Ares surpassed expectations.
The takeaway isn’t just volume. It’s breadth.
Dakota’s latest Private Markets Review captures how capital is being deployed across strategies, sectors, and geographies.
Investments & Searches
Private Fund Updates
Private Equity
Private Credit
Real Assets
People News
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CIO Turnover Is Creating a Window in the Endowment Market
Endowment portfolios don’t change often.
But when leadership does, everything gets reviewed.
Dakota has tracked a wave of CIO transitions across the endowment landscape — each triggering a 12–18 month window where manager relationships are reassessed and new allocations are considered.
For investment firms, these moments matter.
They represent one of the few times established portfolios are open to change.
Dakota’s latest report maps these transitions alongside broader trends in allocation, governance, and portfolio construction.
Because in institutional fundraising, timing can matter as much as access.